The Second Call

The Selection. Why did Jesus pick these men? He could have asked court officials to follow. He could have asked some priests, Pharisees, carpenters, educated individuals, or soldiers to follow Him. The soldiers knew how to obey. The court officials could have helped Him politically. Yes, the priests and Pharisees might have rejected Him once again. The carpenters would have been from the same trade and perhaps would have been supportive, and the educated could have helped in the planning. But Jesus picked some uneducated fishermen to come and fish for men. It is amazing that Jesus did not ask them to do something else.

In some churches fishing for men and women is not the priority. Instead, it is near the bottom. We would rather hear good preaching, sing beautiful songs, attend great banquets, and hope the pastoral staff is evangelizing the lost. We want to see the congregation increase in size, but when at church, we want only to talk with our friends. Yes, we want others to believe in Jesus, but we are more afraid of their rejection. If some of us were really honest, we would have probably told Jesus “No!” and explained that we needed to mend our nets, finish catching our quota of fish before the sunset, or put the nets away. Why did the Holy Spirit tell us that they had left their nets? It tells us that they were serious. It is a change in their hearts and it reveals their commitment.

Conclusion. Some believe that Luke 5:1-11 is part of the events that occurred in this study. But there are some significant differences between the events in Matthew and Mark and those that occur in Luke. We will discuss them in a later study. For now, it is important to see that the first time Jesus called these men, they believed in Him (John 1:35-51) and they followed. Matt. 4:13-22; Mark 1:16-20 and Luke 4:31 record the second encounter with Jesus where Jesus calls them to follow, and Luke 5:1-11 will be the third time that Jesus calls them to follow Him.

Like some Christians, they were eager to follow after they first believed, but after awhile they returned back to the old routine. Did the disciples return home early, or was it part of some plan they had with Jesus? If it was part of a plan, why did the disciples leave their nets immediately? Why did Jesus command them to follow? Why look for them on the shore of the lake and not at their homes? The answers to our questions suggest that Jesus’ visit and command was unexpected. This was not part of their plan. They needed to understand that God wanted more from them.